Results Of 2019 NBA Draft Lottery — New Orleans Pelicans Take No. 1, Zion Williamson Expected To Be Top Pick

The Pelicans overcame huge odds to snag the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

The Pelicans overcame huge odds to snag the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

The New Orleans Pelicans have been in a bit of turmoil for the last six or seven months, and it didn’t seem as if things were going to get any easier. They suffered a number of injuries this season, fell out of the playoff race, and their best player publicly requested a trade away from the team. On Tuesday night, the 2019 NBA Draft Lottery took place and things have suddenly turned around in the city known as the “Big Easy.”

After a number of teams were given their position in this year’s draft, the four teams left standing were the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, and Memphis Grizzlies. As the envelopes were opened, the tension in the room could be cut with a knife and the Pelicans were the last team left standing.

ESPN revealed all of the picks, numbers one through 14, after the results of the lottery on Tuesday night.

New Orleans Pelicans

Memphis Grizzlies

New York Knicks

Los Angeles Lakers

Cleveland Cavaliers

Phoenix Suns

Chicago Bulls

Atlanta Hawks

Washington Wizards

Atlanta Hawks

Minnesota Timberwolves

Charlotte Hornets

Miami Heat

Boston Celtics

The New Orleans Pelicans had a mere 6 percent chance of winning the lottery, and the unthinkable certainly ended up happening. It may be needless to say, but the excitement in the New Orleans war room was something to be captured on film for all time.

Alvin Gentry absolutely mauling David Griffin with a bear hug after the Pelicans secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/LmLJqgtO5z

It is almost a complete certainty that the Pelicans are going to select Zion Williamson, the phenom out of Duke. He is being seen as one of the best NBA prospects since LeBron James joined the league many years ago.

Recently, the Pelicans announced David Griffin as the new Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. The New Orleans team was thought to be in a bit of a rebuilding mode with some key parts being kept from the current roster and looking ahead to the future.

During the 2018-2019 season, All-Star Anthony Davis revealed his desire to be traded and that he would even turn down a SuperMax deal if the Pelicans offered it to him. Upon coming to New Orleans, Griffin said that he wasn’t against trying to get AD to stay in New Orleans and work out a new deal.

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If Davis had been looking for proof from the Pelicans that they wanted to win with him as their leader, the drafting of Williamson would do just that.

It is not exactly known what is going to happen in the 2019 NBA Draft this summer, but it is almost a certainty that the New Orleans Pelicans will select Zion Williamson. They already had a big trade bargaining chip in the form of Anthony Davis, but now, they have so many great cards in their hand. Things needed to turn around for the Pelicans and the results of the NBA Draft Lottery certainly started them spinning in a hurry.